Bedspring brace



July 9, 1929,. n v R STANERT 1.720,@10

BEDSPRING BRACE Filed Sept. 19, 192.7 2 Sheets-Shes? l Wim/F5358: v wrm/TOR f A ATTORNEY Patented July 9, 1929.

,l UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROWLAND STANERT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WM. H.

MCMAHEN COMPANY, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

BEDSPRING BRACE.

` Application ined september 19, 1927. serial No. 220,360.

My invention relates to bed springs or spring mattresses and more particularly to a border brace adapted to prevent the edges thereof from sagging and the supporting surface from swaying,

While my improved brace may be used on springs of various types, it is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with bed springs which depend upon a plurality of coiled springs for their resiliency. The prevalent custom of sitting on the edge of the bed causes any type of spring to sag and destroys the uniformity of its supporting surface, thus lessening the comfortableness of the bed as well as marring its general appearance. When the edge of a bed spring is depressed, the border wire moves inwardly as well as downwardly due to the fact that the coiled springs constituting the supporting surface are tied together either by rigid connections or by small coiled springs.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a bordel` brace which is adapted to assist the bed spring in returning the border wire to its normal position after being depressed, toprovide means for limiting the upward movement of the surface of the bed spring beyond its normal plane, and to prevent swaying of the supporting` surface.

Devices for preventing the swaying of bed springs and devices for assisting the bed springs in returning to their normal position have heretofore been produced but, to the `best of my knowledge, all of such devices cause the border wire of the springs to move outwardly when the spring is depressed and have other inherent defects. y A further 0bject of this invention is to provide a border brace which will overcome such defects and will allow the border wire of a bedspring to move downwardly` in substantially a vertical plane.

A still further object of my invention is to employ a closely coiled spring for yieldingly holding the border brace in its normal position and for limiting the upward movement of the movable part of the brace.

These objects, and other advantageous ends which will appear hereinafter, I attain in the following manner, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, showing a certain embodiment of my invention and an application thereof, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fragpressed position, and also showing, in dot and i dash lines, the relative position of the border wire and brace part connected thereto when the brace is in its normal position.

Referring now in more detail to the draw# ings, I have shown the brace as having a horizontally disposed support 5 which is twisted and bent at 6 to form a connecting part 7 adapted to overlap and be secured to the side rail S'of a bed spring. A link 9 has one end pivotally connected to support 5 at a point `adjacent twist 6 while its other end is pivotally connected to a lever 10 having a part ll extending horizontally rearwardly from its point of union with lever 9 while the main part of the lever extends upwardly at an angle and terminates in a hook 12 adapted to be clamped around the border wire 13 of the spring'.

A closely coiled spring 14 rests on the end of support 5, abuts the underside of horizon-` tal part 1l, and is secured in place by loops 15 and 16 encircling the ends of support 5 and horizontal part 11 and held against displacement by the loops passing, respectively, through notches 17 and 18 formed in these ends. Loops 15` and 16 are so proportioned that they hold the ends of spring 14 snugly against support 5 and part 1l, respectively. As spring la is wound in a tight spiral, it will thus prevent the other end of lever 10 from moving upwardly beyond a predetermined point and this point is determined to be the normal plane of the supporting surface of the bed spring.

The bed spring shown in Figure 1 obtains its `resiliency from longitudinal and trans verse rows of helically wound coiled springs 19 connected to one another by small coiled springs 20 and carried by straps 21 secured to rails 8. The outer row of springs 19 are secured to border wire 13, in any suitable manner as by binding 22, and it therefore follows that the entire supporting surface of the bed spring may oscillate both longitudinally and transversely unless prevented roo i by some device. As the length of thebed spring is s'nbstanti'ally greater than the width, longitudinal oscillations are not as frequently encountered as transverse oscilla* tions. To overcome such oscillations, I attach one or more of my border braces to each side of the bed spring and find thatvtwo of such braces on each sidel give highly satis factory results'. V

,When'springs of this character are moved, it is sc'ustom'ary to: grasp them by the' border wireat either side of the spring, thus forcing theli'o'rder' wire inwardly and pulling same upwardly which" oftentimes distorts it. With my improved brace in position, the bor'c'le'rl wire is' held against both inward and outward' movement and ,consequent-ly' preyei'it's the spring from' being distorted.

W'h'e'n the coiled springs adjacent the border `vs'ffi'are depressed, as vby a person sitting on the edge of the bed, the border wire tends to move inwa'rdl"Y due to `the action of the springs 20. device allows the border wire to be compressed under the weight of the person but prevents it from moving inwardly. [Border braces heretofore produced have preventedthe border wire from being forced inwardlyb'ut, in so doing, have forced saine to swing outwardly when'being depressed and thus putting unnecessary strain upon the spring vstructure and Adestroying*some of its resiliencyfy i In Figure 3, I have shown in dotand-dash lines the positions' ofle'ver 10 and hook '12' when vthe device'is in lnormal position apdgid full lines,"their` positions when the device is fully compressed. It will be' noted that, when the device is fully compressed, borderwire 13' ais substantially directly under` its vnormal positionjand that it moves downwardlyV in substantially a straight line, as

shown by dot-andfdash line Q3, thusV insuring farfbet'pteservice*frein the spring structure.

is, of course, understood that the bed illustrated may be modified and changed in various ways without departing frl'niy theiriventionherein set forth and hereafter claimed,

I cla-iin n y .LLfA border brace including a support, a linkvrpivoted to thesupport, aleverA pivoted to vlink., `anyd,a coiled spring secured to adj a-V cent ends of the support and lever and acting asa stop therebetween. v,

2.I Aborder brace including a support, a

linkpivo'ted. to the support, aflever pivoted to the link, and a coiled spring secured to adjacent ends of the support and lever and acting as aV stop therebetween; the end of the link pivoted to the support being disposed at a considerably greater distance from the spring than is its other end.

3. A border brace including a fixed support, a link pivoted to the support, a. lever pivotedY to the link, and a coiled spring secured by its opposite ends to adjacent ends of the support and lever and acting as a stop therebetween, the link being so disposed relatively to the spring that the free end of the lever moves downwardly when acted upon by an outside force.

t. In a bed spring having a side rail and a border wire, a border brace including a support rigidly fixed to the rail and extending inwardly, a lever secured tothe border wire and extending inwardly and downwardly, a link having one end pivoted to the support adjacent the rail and its other end pivoted to the lever adjacent its inner end, and a spring having its ends abutting the inner ends of the lever and support and being secured thereto.

5. In a bed spring having a side rail and a border wire, a border brace including a support lixed to the rail and extending inwardly, a lever secured to the border wire and exten il.- ing inwardly and downwardly, a link having one end pivoted to the support adjacent the rail and its other end pivoted to the lever adjacent its inner end, and a spring having its ends abutting the inner ends of the lever and support and being secured thereto; the brace being so proportioned that it will' cause the border wire to move downwardly in substantially a vertical plane when depressed.

6. In a bed spring having a side rail and a border wire, a border brace including a snpport having a bent end fixed to the rail and a body part extending horizontally inward, a lever fixed to the border wire and extending downwardly and inwardly and terminating in a' horizontal part, a link having one end pivoted to the support adjacent its bent end and its other end pivoted tothe lever near the junctionv of its inclined and horizontal parts, and a tight spiral spring acting as a stop between the inner ends of the lever and support and connected to said ends for yieldinglyv holding them against the ends of the spring.

'In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ROWLAN'D STANERT. 

